Persona 3: Reunion
by Neristhaed
Summary: When the twins are reunited after nearly 10 years their lives become even more weird. Strong language. PoV switches between Protagonists. Spoilers for P3P Male and Female
1. The Fools

This is my first shot at this, so please let me know what you think! Also I changed the female protagonist's name to Aria, because Minako was too similar and Hamuko makes me think of hamsters. So thank you for reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own persona 3 but I wish I did.

* * *

**12/02/1999**

Almost Midnight - Moonlight Bridge

The car was completely silent save for the occasionally murmur from the backseat and the car engine. A woman sat on the passenger side looking out the window, the man driving finally spoke, "I didn't think we would be getting back so late."

The woman laughed softly, "It's ok isn't it? It was a special trip for their birthday and a wonderful idea, they loved it."

He nodded to himself, "You're right, as usual." He chuckled, "How are they doing back there?"

She shifted in her seat til she was facing the back seat, what she saw made her smile so gently. The boy and girl had fallen asleep still holding hands while leaning on the other. "They're so adorable when they do that... a pair of angels." She was still watching them when the car suddenly died. "Huh... what's wrong with the car?" Then turned seeing outside leaving her only able to utter, "...W-What happened...?"

He couldn't answer her. What he was seeing didn't make any sense it was too much like a horror movie : a green sky, an eerily large moon, pools of blood everywhere, the nearby cars filled with coffins and to top it all off a feeling of unnatural wrongness. And he thought that single damning thought that some unseen force always seemed punish. 'This can't get any worse... right?' The bridge began to shudder and with each passing moment it grew worse. This finally brought him out of his stupor, "We need to get out of here!"

The bridge began to quake and groan more violently, they had turned around in their seats and trying to grab and wake up the children. "Wake up! Wake up!"

**03/29/2009**

Late Evening - At the all girls dorm

Looking over the room other than a few boxes that were piled in the corner, you couldn't tell anyone was staying here anymore. And I can't wait til I really am gone, just a few more days left. Laying down on my bed rereading the acceptance letter and the letter from nii-san. Soon we would be going to the same school again and as luck would have it be staying in the same dorm. It felt like a dream come true and it only took 2 years to convince the greedy bastard. We forfeit the inheritance so we can return to our hometown to finish highschool there and never have to deal with our uncle again. I think we made out like bandits.

"...I wonder what nii-san looks like now... he's still the same... right?" As if asking the letter he wrote is going to tell me. I rolled over sighing. "Just a bit longer."

Then I wont have to stay in this prison in the middle of nowhere without anyone that understands just how weird my life is. Ah speaking of which don't want to get caught off guard better get ready just in case... it's almost Time...

**04/06/2009**

Evening - In the New City passenger train "Anehazuru"

A voice comes out from the intercom, "Due to a malfunction in the switching system, today's rail schedule has been greatly altered. We apologize to any customers who were in a hurry. The next stop is Iwatodai..."

"I'm thankful it's taken so long, it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with you." I turn to him and let out a huge grin.

He chuckles and returns a smile, "Yeah, it wasn't too bad."

I am so happy to see him again, to be with him again. Even though it's been about 10 years since we last saw each other it feels like we had never parted. I look down and smile we were already falling back into old habits like holding hands. Still, I'm surprised I could recognize him so easily... he has gotten taller and his hair is a bit longer but he still carries himself the same. Ha, we must look so contrasting together my reddish brown hair to his grayish blue, my ruby colored eyes to his sapphire it must be some cosmic joke that we're related much less twins.

"...Nee-san, we're here."

"Eh?" I jump slightly, he was standing over me tugging on my arm to get my attention. "Sorry I guess I zoned out a bit. I must be slipping if you're trying to get me to pay attention and not the other way around."

We had just stepped off the train when the most beautiful butterfly appeared it felt like time had slowed down as it floated passed us. And then completely vanished.

"..."

"..."

"...You saw that too right?"

"...Yes." Before the words even fully leave his mouth I tackle hug him, thankfully he manages to not fall over.

"Nii-san really is the best! No one else gets it!"

He pats my back a few times, "I love you too, now let go so I can breath..."

We just reached the entrance of the station when I felt that familiar feeling that told me that Time was about to begin. And without fail the sky turns green, pools of blood appear, electronics die and people are replaced by coffins. Of all the things to be constant in my life this is it.

"It's that late, huh."

"Looks like it. You had the map right?" Pulling the long rectangle case off my back and opening it up, two halves of a naginata sat there waiting for me to assemble them. I finish and give it a test swing, it felt solid. He looked at me with an eye brow raised questioningly. "One time I didn't do a test swing to make sure it was put together right... it was a painful lesson learned."

"Ah." He held the map in one hand and a short sword in the other. "Ready to go?"

"Yup, I'll watch your back while you lead on!"

"...You are far too upbeat about the whole roaming around an unfamiliar city with weird black blobs running around, Nee-san."

? - Iwatodai Dorm

"We're here."

"Not a bad looking place, wonder what the inside is like." I disassemble the naginata and hanging the case over my shoulder.

"Only one way to find out."

Huh, why is there light in- a boy's voice interrupts my thoughts.

"Welcome."

What the... wait there's light and he's not in a coffin... did it end without me noticing?

"You're late. I've been waiting a long time for you."

I'm looking desperately to make sure I'm not the only one seeing this... Ok good, his mouth is open in shock I haven't finally just gone nuts. So just go with the flow.

The boy wearing stripes continues, "Now if you want to proceed, please sign your name there. It's a contract. Don't worry, all it says is that you'll accept full responsibility for your actions. You know, the usual stuff."

He points to the contract on the counter, I walk forward and read it 'I chooseth this fate of my own free will.' ...Whatever. Besides I'll be damned if a little piece of paper is going to keep me from staying with nii-san and... it's an odd feeling but he's familiar somehow. I sign it and pass the pen to nii-san. He looks it over for a moment before he shrugs and signs it.

The boy in stripes picks it up with a smile. Then the light start to fade as he melts into darkness, "No one can escape time. It delivers us all to the same end. You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes... And so it begins."

"..."

"..."

"...I'm tired."

He nods. I gather my bags up and I'm about to start walking til I see something move in the darkness. I quietly slipped my case off my back, even if I just use the case to hit it we should be fine, hopefully. I start to flank the shadowy figure when it gave a jump.

"...Who's there?"

The hell, another one not in their coffin? She seemed to be reaching for something...

"How can you be... But it's...!"

...What does she have in her hands? My jaw dropped, a gun! She started raising it slowly.

"Don't tell me.."

_**"Not a chance in hell!"**_

It pulls her attention to me and she's too surprised to react, I wont be giving her a chance to ether. Another female voice cried out but I don't hear the words as I use my case to slam into her. Then the lights turn back on and music is coming from my headphones, great that Time ended. I take a look at the girl I've got pinned and she's out of it, her gun landed safely a few feet away. Someone is slowly moving near by, I look up and see an older girl with long red hair trying to move closer. Shit, she has a gun too! It's still holstered but...!

**"Don't move." **His voice sent a chill up my spine. I'm glad he's on my side, always reliable in a pinch. And just a bit scary.

Someone's running on the floor above us which is just great because we needed another one to join the party. I tighten my hold as our latest arrival gets to the bottom of the stairs. A guy with silver hair and one very surprised look on his face. This isn't looking too good for us now, three on two and they're armed... Yup, not good.

**"Don't move."** and he managed to sound even more intimidating, making a mental note to never piss him off. Anyway how's he keeping them at bay? Did he draw his sword? I can't look to see, it's just a tad bit too risky, I need to watch for sudden movements. As the standoff continues the brown haired girl underneath me let out a groan and the older girl finally broke the silence.

"There's been a misunderstanding, if we can just talk it'll all make sense. I promise, we aren't looking to harm you."

"Explain the guns then." Because I'm really, really curious how you do that.

"They're not real, it's just a fake... just a prop for protection. You can even check for yourself." She points to the fallen one, nii-san walks over and picks it up then pointed it at the ground and pulls the trigger.

Nothing happens.

"..."

"..."

Seriously? All this because she points a fake gun at him. I slowly get off the girl and stand next to him, sword still drawn. The silver haired guy walks over to the girl, helping her stand and walks back toward the redhead. I sign inwardly, I better get this over with and apologize, she might even be able to understand now.

I bow deeply, "I am terribly sorry for hurting you. I had just seen the gun pointed at him and reacted. I apologize for being so rash."

"...It's ok. I was wrong to point it at someone, even if it is a fake..."

She doesn't sound too sorry about it, but I'll bet she'll damn well think for a moment before pulling that stunt again. Oh well, I right myself in time to see the sword being sheathed. And with that the tension lessened a bit.

"Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, Akihiko please take Takeba to her room and then come back down."

"...Ok, I'll be right back." He gave a wary glance then quickly helped the frazzled girl up the stairs. We wait in silence til he returns and reports her condition. "She'll be just fine, just a small bump on the back of her head."

"Good." She turned toward us again, "You must be the be the two transfer students we were expecting, I didn't think you would arrive so late." Her tone made it perfectly clear who she thought was at fault but I let it pass. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm. And this is Akihiko Sanada, he also lives here." He gives a short nod.

"I am Aria Arisato and this is Minato Arisato, my brother. It may be a bit late to say this but..." I'm going to give my best smile for this, "Nice to meet you." Nii-san nods.

Looks like it went over well, Mitsuru seems to be amused and Akihiko looks... impressed? Huh. Whatever.

"It's late, so why don't we get you to your rooms Arisa-"

Ah. Haven't seen that reaction for a while. "Please just use our first names."

Mitsuru smiles,"I see, thank you. Aria, your room is on the 3rd floor and Minato your's is on the 2nd floor. Your belongings should already be inside. Akihiko please show Minato to his room. I'll show you to your's, Aria, follow me."

I follow her up the stairs to the 3rd floor, my room is at the end of the hall it should be quiet this way. Nice.

"Here we are, as I said before your belongings should be inside. The showers are on the 4th floor, there are additional washrooms on the 1st floor along with a kitchen. Also try to be back in the dorm before evening, it can be a dangerous after dark."

"Ok."

"Also I will not be able to show you to school tomorrow, Takeba, the one you tackled earlier will be the one to show you to school."

Like that isn't going to be awkward as all hell, but I don't care. I want to sleep so badly right now I can deal with it in the morning. "Alright."

"That should be all for now then. Good night."

"Good night."

I open the door and go inside. This place isn't bad, a TV, mini fridge and sink all just for me. Not bad at all. I strip and put on pajamas before diving into bed and then jumping back off it to get to my cell phone. The id says Minato, must want to make sure I actually made it to my room.

"Hi nii-san, I'm still alive and well."

"Good, otherwise I was going to plan a rescue mission."

"Aww, it's so cute when you get overprotective like that."

"I'm not sure what to say to that considering you just tackled some poor girl because she pointed a fake gun near me." he sounds exasperated.

"Hmph. It's her fault for not thinking first."

He chuckles,"Now now, don't pout about it. I'll see you in the morning, good night."

"Good night."

**04/07/2009**

Early Morning - Iwatodai Dorm - 3rd floor

"...I wonder if nii-san is up yet..." I finish getting ready just as someone knocks on the door.

"...Hello? Mitsuru-sempai asked me to show you the way to school, are you awake?"

She sounds like she'd like nothing more than to not have to talk to me, forever. As I walk over to the door I hear her moving back a little, I guess I scare her. I open the door and use my best smile and warmest voice, "Hello and sorry about last night again. And I apologize if showing us to school is inconvenient for you, I really appreciate it though." If constantly being surrounded by people that don't like you taught me anything it was if you act nice enough it drains away their will to be angry with you. Or leaves them feeling really awkward about, same difference.

"O-Oh. It's no problem. W-we should go get the boy you were with last night...Ah right, I should introduce myself. I'm Yukari Takeba, a junior just like you."

There give it enough time and she just might forget it ever happened. "I'm Aria Arisato, pleased to meet you. I'll introduce my brother soon as we go get him. Shall we?"

Gekkoukan High - Front Gate

As we walk to school Yukari seemed to open up a bit and we made small talk. Hmm. The closer we get to the school the more people greet her... I guess she must be popular. We reach the school gates when she turns around with a proud smile.

"Welcome to Gekkoukan High School. You'll love it here."

"It is a beautiful place..." And I truly meant it, the last school was soul crushingly drab while this school feels so bright and lively.

"...Yeah." I beam at him, I think that's the first thing he's said this whole morning.

I finish putting my school shoes on and start taking a peek around. Looks like there a big crowd around that bulletin board, maybe it's the class lists I'll take a look later. I walk over to Yukari as I need to ask her where to find the faculty office but she spoke first.

"You're okay from here, right? You should go see your homeroom teacher first. The Faculty Office is right there to the left. ...And that concludes the tour. Do you have any questions before I go?"

"...Nope, we'll be okay." You call that a tour? Sigh, whatever you say. I'll just be thankful she said where to find the office. She starts to walk away but turns back towards us again.

"About last night... Don't tell anyone what you saw, okay? ...See you later." And she was gone.

"...Like I would talk to anyone but you about things like that." I frown, looking at him.

He shrugs and flashes a grin, "She's not playing with a full deck."

"Heh. Let's we go find our homeroom teacher."

The Faculty Office is right where she said it would be, I open the door and look around. A few teachers are milling about, while I'm feeling unsure of whom to ask a female teacher with short light brown hair waves us over.

"You must be the transfer students, Aria and Minato Arisato... 11th grade correct?" We nod and she starts flipping through our files. " Wow, you've lived in a lot of different places... Let's see the last school you attended together was in 1999... That was what, ten years ago? Your parents- I'm sorry... I've been so busy, I didn't have time to read this beforehand. I'm Ms. Toriumi. I teach Composition. Welcome to our school."

And this is why you read files in advance walking into a mine field isn't fun for anyone. Ah well I'll forgive her, "We're pleased to meet you!" Nii-san just smiles and nods.

"My, aren't you polite? Girls like you should be examples for others." Oh if you only knew what I was thinking. "Have you seen your classroom assignments? You'll both be in 2-F, that's my class." That's great news, first the same dorm and now our class. if I can just repress the urge to tackle hug her, all will be right with the world. I don't want to be put in a different class after all. "But first, we need to go to the auditorium. The Welcoming Ceremony will be starting soon. Follow me."

Nii-san is already fast asleep and I'm fighting a losing battle. The principle droned on and on til I finally fell asleep, which wasn't too hard because I'm still very tired from yesterday. Luckily, I wake up just before the end of it and for whatever reason there seemed to be alot of giggling around us. It didn't click until I heard someone whispering behind me, we had started holding hands. Habits are seriously scary things when you do them while sleeping.

Ms. Toriumi finally got involved, "Shh! Be quiet! You're going to get me in trouble!"

After School - Gekkoukan High - Classroom 2-F

...I want to go back to the dorm and sleep so badly. I give nii-san a hard poke to wake him, he shoots a glare at me.

"...Sorry, I'm tired too. Let's get going, we can get a good night's sleep tonight.".

"Alright." He yawns, grabbing his bag. So we're ready to go and some guy in a cap walks up and starts talking to us. For the love of...

"S'up? How's it goin'?" The combined stare he received forces him to take a step back.

"...Who're you?"

"Me?" I give him an annoyed look. "Right, of course you mean me. I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya. I transferred here when I was in eighth grade. I know how tough it is bein' the new kid... So I wanted to say, 'hey.' And... I was kind of curious about you guys, it's rare to get two transfers at once much less two that have the same last name." I guess he isn't so bad and it was refreshing to hear someone just be honest about it. "Hey, it's Yuka-tan! I didn't think we'd be in the same class again." She had walked over and stood close by me.

"At it again, huh? Honestly is there any girl you wouldn't hit on?" She sounds a bit fed up.

The soft music coming from nii-san's headphones stops. I turn, he had taken them off and was giving Junpei a bit of a glare. Ack, don't laugh, don't laugh.

"W-What? I was just tryin to be friendly!"

Poor Junpei is surrounded, guess I can help him out. "Junpei."

"Y-Yeah?"

"The reason we have the same last name is because we're brother and sister." Nii-san gives me a questioning look but I just smile in reply.

"But you're both in the same year."Junpei says while looking confused.

"Yup, it's cause we're twins."

"...Seriously?"

Doesn't believe me huh. I give nii-san a nudge, he sighs but complies with my silent request. We stand shoulder to shoulder I pat down my bangs to cover my right eye a bit then mimic his posture, hands in pockets elbows out and the most bored expression I can manage. I didn't do half bad judging by the looks on their faces.

"...Wow."

"Dude, that's sweet!"

An annoyed sigh later and he's turned the music back on. "So there you have it, fraternal twins." And with any luck the whole class will know by tomorrow thanks to Junpei and we wont have to do this again.

"I'm surprised we're in the same homeroom."

"Yeah, me too." Because sharing a class with the girl you assaulted last night it just a bit much.

"Um, hello? Are you forgetting that I'm in this class too? By the way, I heard you three came to school together this morning. Do you know each other or something? A couple of cuties like you walking side by side with a guy in tow... the whole class was buzzing about it."

"Ugh... Could you just cut it out? I hate dealing with rumors like that. We live in the same dorm. Why are people even talking about it? Now you have me worried..." Way to act suspicious Yukari. She turns to face nii-san and I, "Hey... You didn't say anything to anyone about.. you know what, did you?"

"..."

"..."

Is she really that thick? We both shake our heads.

"Seriously... Don't say anything about last night, alright?" ...That was seriously, a bad choice of words.

"..." Now Junpei's staring at her with his mouth open in shock.

"Wh-What?" I sigh inwardly, this should be good to watch.

"L-Last night...?"

"W-Wait a minute! Don't get the wrong idea! Listen! I just met them yesterday, and there's absolutely nothing going on! Geez... I've gotta go. I've got something to take care of for the archery team. But, you better not start any rumors!"

"Ah, who cares? No one takes rumors seriously, anyway. She's so paranoid... But, hey! It's your first day here, and people are already talkin' about you! Heheh, this is gonna be a fun year. I can feel it! Well, I'll be seeing you two around, then.

I sigh, "Let's get out of here before someone else starts talking to us."

He chuckles, "Works for me."

Feigning annoyance, "Sure, you can laugh about it but I'm the one that gets stuck doing all the talking while you listen to music."

He ruffled my hair teasingly, "I'm sure you'll get used to it again. To make it up to you how about I make you a treat later."

"And how do you know that'll still work, nii-san?" We took a few more steps, "...I hope it'll be something sweet."

He was still stifling a laugh when we reached the school gates and Junpei showed up.

"Hey Aria-chan, Minato hold up! Lemme walk you to your dorm, it'd suck if you got lost, right?"

"Ok." I watch nii-san put his headphones on low and it seems Junpei doesn't mind, which is good. Looks like I wont be listening to music anytime soon... We made small talk about school clubs on the way back.

Evening - Iwatodai Dorm - 1st floor

"Welcome back." It's Mitsuru and she's sitting in the lounge reading a book.

"We're back." A normal greeting and a normal response yet I still feel pleased as it's not a repeat of what happened last night.

"You both must still be tired. You should get a good night's rest."

I can't argue with that, it's what I've be wanting all day. "Right, well good night, sempai."

"Good night."

**04/08/2009**

Afternoon - Gekkoukan High - Class

Ms. Toriumi is teaching or atleast she was before she started going on about her favorite author. I look next to me and see nii-san sound asleep... that doesn't look like a bad idea even after going to bed early I'm still tired.

"...Hey Junpei! Were you listening? Who did I say was my favorite author?"

"H-Huh? U-Ummm..." He lowers his voice, "Psst, Aria-chan! Who does she like?"

"...Utsubo Kubota." I think that's right... I wonder if she'd notice I went to sleep too.

"That's right! So you were listening to me after all!"

"Eheheh... Well, you know how I like to pay attention! Man, you saved-...How'd she fall asleep so fast?"

Evening - Iwatodai Dorm - 1st floor

We walk into the dorm when I spot Yukari siting with a gentleman with glasses. And it seems Yukari noticed us too and pointed us out to the man, we walked over to them.

"Good evening. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school. 'Ikutsuki'... Hard to say, isn't it? That's why I don't like introducing myself. Even I get tongue-tied sometimes... Please, have a seat. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them."

Why is such an important person here? Well he did say if I had any questions. "Why are you here?"

"To welcome you, of course." I frown a bit."Well, to be honest, I do have other business here. Speaking of which... where's Mitsuru, Yukari?"

"She's upstairs."

"As diligent as always. Although, it doesn't hurt to come down and say hello... Is there anything else?"

"No, we're good." I'm not sure why but something about this guy bothers me...

"Then, I hope you have a successful school year. Now, if you'll excuse me... You must be tired from all the excitement. You should go to bed early. As they say, 'The early bird catches the bookworm!'...Please forgive the bad pun." He chuckled then stood up walked towards stairs.

Yukari sighed, "...You'll get used to his lame jokes."

"... I think I'll just ignore them. Well, good night."

"..."

"Oh sorry, good night."

Why did she pause? We head up the stairs.

"...Hey nii-san, they're acting odd, just a bit. What do you think?"

He's frowning, "Yeah, something is off."

"So it's not just me then." I thought for a moment and a wicked grin spread across my face, "I have a simple solution then. I'll keep my weapon assembled and near my bed, you should do the same. They can't complain if something happens when they are sneaking around like this."

"...Nee-san... I'm glad I'm not your enemy."

I beam at him, "You never could be, nii-san. Good night!"

He just shook his head smiling slightly, "Good night."

? - ?

"...Master..."

"Master Aria Arisato..."

I feel like I'm being pulled to a blue door, blinding light fills the inside of it. The next thing I see is... a blue room... in a fast moving elevator... what? This can't be right...but I look around again and it is, great. A man sitting in front of me with a very long nose with budging eyes but the most startling features is the manic smile. To his left and right a man and woman they both had similar features, yellow eyes, pale skin, cream colored hair and a very blue outfit complete with hat. This is a bit much... isn't it?

"My name is Igor... I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This is Elizabeth." She gave a bow, "And this is Theodore." He also bowed. " They are residents here, like myself."

In unison they smiled, "We are pleased to meet you."

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter... It's been years since we've had guests.

He pointed at the table and the contract the stripped boy had taken was laying there. I open y mouth for a second before closing it and jump up to look at it closer but I ran into something and fall.

"Ow."

"Ouch."

I know that voice, so why am I shocked? When things like this happen he is always there experiencing it with me. So why can't I get this dumbstruck look off my face is beyond me. But, thankfully even he is showing plainly that he hadn't been expecting this ether. I'd hate to look like the only idiot here.

"You're here... this is really happening, huh?"

"If this keep happening at this rate we're going to be admitted to a hospital." He's shaking his head.

I'm grinning in spite of it, after all, "We'd just sneak out during that Time anyway."

Igor waits for us to sit back down with a rather amused smile on his face then continues, "Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place... Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return... that you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for the choices that you make.

We look at each for a moment then nod, "We understand." After all this is just another weird thing in our very weird lives. So, why not?

"Hold on to this." A velvet key appeared in both our hands," 'Til we meet again..."

And everything faded.

**04/09/2009**

Early Morning - Iwatodai Dorm - 2nd Floor

I wave to him as he leaves his room and when he reaches the stairs I pull out the key from last night. He gives a half hearted smile and pulls his from a pocket. He starts running away? I guess I gave away what I wanted to do...but a chase can be fun too I suppose. We reach the school gates and he must have decided he no longer needed to keep a 'safe' distance away. He's so very wrong there's still a time left before we need to be inside. I launch myself at his back and wrap my arms around his neck.

"Gah!"

"Heh, you should of waited just a bit longer and you would of been safe! After running away for so long I'm not letting you off easy."

"Dude, you are the only guy I know that comes to school with a cute girl literally hanging all over him. " I'm just going to ignore Junpei for now, I'm in a good mood at the moment.

"...She's my sister and I think she's trying to kill me."

"Still, man... Hey, Aria-chan how bout you let him go he looks like he might actually die if you keep doing that!"

Pouting a bit, I let go. Guess I squeezed a lil too tight, my bad he's panting.

"If you want to do it that bad, I can make the sacrifice and let you hang on to me like that."

He's standing there all expectantly. It's just not going to happened and apparently the look on my face says so too. He sags and nii-san is having a fit laughing. I take the chance to walk ahead, should leave the boys to chat by themselves now and then.

"Dude, that's so not funny. Especially when I go out of my way to help."

"Right, sorry."

"So-"

Morning - Gekkoukan High - Class

"Ahem... I'm Mr. Ekoda. I'll be teaching you Classic Literature. I'll be teaching you about good old Japan all year. Some people say Classic Lit isn't relevant to everyday life, but oh, how they're wrong!" Sheesh, I thought he was bad the first day but he's even worse when he teaches.

"Hey... Are you all listening to me?" The teachers are 0 for 2, I'm going to sleep in his class too.

Afterschool - Gekkoukan High

I meet Yukari at the shoeboxes.

"Oh not with Minato today?"

"Yep, he's with Junpei. What's up?

"I just wanted to see if you'd like to go to the mall, I can show you around a bit."

"Perfect, lead on." Not bad, I was getting worried because I had nothing to do. Surprisingly enough we both have a good time. After we get back to the dorm I head straight for my room.

? - Iwatodai Dorm - 3rd Floor

..The hell is going on? The building's shaking, I hear people screaming bellow and it's that freaking Time. So what the hell is going on? I'm in my freaking pajamas holding a naginata getting ready to go figure out what's going on or atleast get nii-san and leave. Seriously, what give? I get out of the room and Yukari is running towards me like the world's going to end. She freezes a second then grabs my free hand and starts pulling me with her.

"I don't have time to explain, We have to get out of here, now!"

"What about Minato?"

"Akihiko-sempai is getting him, hurry! We need to get downstairs!"

"Y-Yes! I hear you!"

Please tell me she isn't hearing voices now, I'm not sure I'll be able to handle that given the situation. Oh good, she's just wearing an ear piece... wait... how's it working?

"What?" It doesn't look like she got good news. Joy.

Half running half pulling and being pulled we make it to the first floor. Nii-san and Akihiko are already by the back door and as he is going to open it something powerful hits the door three times causing part of the door to collapse inside. I'm all for not opening that door and looking around I see her pale even more. Shit, Yukari is entering complete freakout mode. Not good. She yanks my arm starting to run again.

"L-Let's pull back!"

Akihiko shouting something but it's drown out by another bang to the building. Yukari isn't listening any more, just dragging me all the way up to the building roof. Sounds like nii-san and Akihiko are following, we burst in and soon as everyone is up top it's locked shut. Everyone is breathing heavily, I look around, nii-san ok, Yukari ok, but Akihiko... is not- he's wounded. Ah um er... right apply pressure and stop the bleeding.

Yukari mumbles a word, "...Shadow!"

Hands, so many hands. Some reaching out while others hold weapons and a single hand holding a blue mask with an eery face carved into it marked with a I.

Ok... Ok... Huh? All of the black blobs I've seen before were just that, blobs, what the hell is this?

The hand with the mask moves as though it's scaning us, it pauses on me first then nii-san. Yukari slowly moved her hands, she's holding that gun again. Before she can take another step it knocks her over, without so much as even looking at her.

"...Tch!" Akihiko moves to the front, I can't let a guy that's already injured protect me...! Wait, why is he putting that fake gun to his head? But it doesn't matter, the hands monster throws a fire ball at him. Thank goodness he was able to dodge it, looks like he can't get up though.

Then the boy wearing stripes, as though it was natural, placed the silver gun he's holding to his head mouthing bang.

I look down and pick up Akihiko's gun.

He looks down and picks up Yukari's gun.

He holds out his hand and I take it.

The boy wearing stripes smiles, "Go on."

We place the guns to our heads.

"...Per...so...na..."

We pull the triggers.

I hear the shots and something breaking like glass. I'm grinning as I feel the power rushing through me and it materializes in front of me.

Two voices in sync, one male and one female announce, "Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I cometh. I am Orpheus, master of strings..."

It hurts so much, my head is splitting! Falling to the ground clutching my head, overflowing with emotions that aren't my own. Pain...Anger...Despair.

**"Gaaaaaaaaaaah!"**

**"Waaaaaaaaaaah!"**

In front of me Orpheus convulses as something is tearing it's way out of it. Orpheus fell away something else took it's place.

The pain stopped but I can't think straight.

...a blurry shadow...?

...there's two of them...?

...It merged together and it's form was becoming clearer now.

"What on earth is _that_!" ...That's Akihiko, right?

A bone white mask held together by chains, coffins bound in chains as though it were a mantle, a sword that looked impossibly sharp and a strong body fited in black. I shudder, not because of fear but this feeling of familiarity again. I want to call out and say "Welcome back." but why? I'm sitting here fighting with feelings I can't understand.

It lunges forward so quickly and effortlessly that I almost don't catch that it's attacking the hands monster. It slashes at the swords the other one is holding, knocking them out of the way then using it's foot to pin down the arm with the mask. Cocked it's head for a moment then swung down cutting the blue mask in two.

It's so mesmerizing to watch. It turns around and looks at us for a half second before splitting in two. Each of the halves kinda of phases out and then in again as a male and female Orpheus, I feel Orpheus return to me, I think. Everything feels kind of... ethereal, I stare at the moon.

"Is it over...?" As though waiting for her to say that the pool of shadow that had been left over collects and forms two smaller black blobs each wearing a mini blue mask identical to the hands monster. I can't move, I'm still feeling dazed.

"It's still moving...!"

"Shit!"

"No... G-Get away from me!"

Damnit, stop fucking around I need to help them! Finally my body listens and runs in front of Akihiko. I'm not ready for round 2 of the head splitting pain but it's better than letting him die. I put the gun to my head and pull the trigger.

"I summon you!" Orpheus appears then uses the lyre to bash the blob til it dissipates. And I'm flooded with relief, it's not painful just a little draining. Wait I'm forgetting something.

Shit, what about Yukari?

"Come forth!"

Ah, nii-san's got her. Oh that's cool his Orpheus turned the blob into ash with a strum of it's lyre. Ahhh... I'm really tired now. Nii-san looks at me and smiles so I grin right back.

But... every...thing's... getting dark...


	2. Setting the Pace part 1

A few things to note, I'm still getting the hang of this so please critique me if you feel like it (I'll defintely understand if it's about battle scenes) and this chapter is all from Minato's PoV. Thanks for reading last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one! Even if I am long winded.

* * *

? - Velvet Room

...It really is blue in here. So how did I get in here again?

"It's so nice to see you again. You became unconscious after awakening to your 'power.'" It's Igor again joy,"...It's nothing to worry about, though. So, just relax. By the way... I see that it was Orpheus that heeded your calling. That power is called a Persona... It is a manifestation of your psyche."

"..."

"..."

"..." I hope he isn't waiting for a response, that's nee-san's department. Wait, she is here isn't she? I look to the left, she looks lost in thought. I shrug at Igor.

"It may take some time to fully comprehend. A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli... You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships. That being said, your power is still weak..."

Whaddya mean 'weak'? I thought it was rather strong considering it nearly caused my head to split open when it first came out.

"..."

"..."

"..."

She's still thinking, thanks, this is really awkward...Thankfully Igor seems to of given up on a response.

"When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength. The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links-your emotional ties with others." Wait, you mean I'm going to have to go out and actually talk to people? This is going to suck.

"The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please remember that. Now, then... Time marches on in your world. I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you will come here of your own accord. Until then... Farewell."

And I'm blacking out again... great...

**04/19/2009**

Daytime - ?

...Where am I this time? White ceiling, white walls... and to think I was joking when I said we were going to be admitted.

"You're awake...! Um, how do you feel?"

"Where am I...?" And why are you here? More importantly, where's nee-san?

"Thank goodness. You finally came to... How much sleep do you need! It's been a whole week! ...I was so worried about you... Oh yeah, this is Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. It's just a short walk from the station." I'm really not interested but she doesn't seem to care. I scan the room, oh she's in here too... guess she's still asleep.

"The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with you. He said you were just exhausted... But, you kept sleeping and sleeping. You know how worried I was? Um... I'm sorry I couldn't do anything... Even though I was supposed to protect you, I... But, your power... It was amazing."

Guess I'm on my own here. "What were those things?"

"You mean the Shadows? They're what we're fighting against. And the power you used... We call it 'Persona.' We'll explain everything later. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before... I, uh... I wanted to tell you that... I'm sorta like you."

...I just woke up from a 10 day coma and appearently I look like I want to talk. "Why're you telling me this?"

"My dad died in an accident when I was little... And my mom and I aren't exactly on good terms... You're all alone too, right?" I wonder if I'm going to have alot of make up work for school because of this... "...Of course, I panicked and wasn't much help... It was my first time fighting them, too. I'm sorry... You wouldn't have to go through all this if I wasn't such a coward..."

Please just go away, I want to get up stretch get cleaned up and check on my sister. "It's not your fault." Atleast I'd like to say all that, sigh.

"Thanks... but still... And here I am telling you all this the minute you wake up. While I was waiting-" I've never seen one of those blobs become so big before... I thought we might of lucked out since there haven't been any since we've come but no can't have that can we." ...Alright, I'm gonna get going. I'll let the others know you woke up. Take it easy, okay? Be a good patient! And don't hesitate to call the nurse. I'm sure she'll take good care of you...Bye."

About time. I get up and start moving my body and man am I stiff, I feel like an old man. I'm not going to look forward to getting older if this is an everyday occurrence.

"She's finally gone. I was getting sick of playing dead." She had a cat like grin on while she sat up.

"Oh. Leaving me to fend for myself now?"

"You say that like I'm abandoning you. It was obvious she didn't want to talk to me but her savior, you. Remember, I'm just the girl that attacked her, even if we're on speaking terms."

"What about in the Velvet Room?"

She visibly stiffened, "...I was thinking."

"About?" She suddenly stood up... huh? ... Shit! Too late, there's nowhere to run and I'm getting the wind knocked out of me. Thankfully I land on the bed not the floor or I'd need to stay here for a few more days.

"...Nee-san, I don't want you to take this the wrong way. But you're going to be the death of me."

She let me go and was positively beaming, "Maybe, but look at the bright side - you'll feel loved if it happens." Sigh, I wont be asking that question again anytime soon, she'll tell me when she's ready.

A mysterious voice rings in my head, _"Thou hast established a new bond. Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana..."_

I feel a little stronger...What the hell? And what's with me hearing voices.

She looked just as confused as I felt, "...I hope that was what Igor meant by a social link. Or we're not going to be leaving the hospital anytime soon and I'm not really sure how I feel about that."

**04/20/2009**

Early Morning - Gekkoukan High - School Gate

Junpei walks over to us, "Yo, long time no see. What's up? Did you guys catch the flu or something? Anyways, I got something to tell ya."

"What's up?"

I'm actually curious to know what's got him this excited.

"Actually... Oh wait! I'm not supposed to say anything!" Then why bring it up? "Sorry, guys."

"Sheesh, someone's full of energy today... I could hear you from all the way over there." You know for as much as Yukari says about the guy she's still around him alot...

"Huh? You came to school separately today even though you guys are in the same dorm?"

"And why do the three of use have to come together? Anyway..." She turns toward me looking concerned, "Minato-kun, are you feeling better?" I nod,"Sorry to hit you with this first thing in the morning ...but Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you and Aria today. Come to the 4th floor of the dorm after school, okay? Don't forget."

As Yukari left nee-san started to chuckle, "She seems to have taken a shine to you."

"..." It's too early for this.

Morning - Gekkoukan High - Class

"That's enough about mammoths... I don't see the big deal, they're just huge elephants. And that wraps it up for the Stone Age."

Of all the schools I've gone to the teachers here have to be the most interesting, case in point Mr. Ono is teaching while wearing a helmet. But so far they make everything sound so... uninteresting. This might be the longest I've been awake during class and that's only because it's my favorite subject... not that I'm even paying attention right now.

"...- day in the sun? I'll just ask a question at random and call it a day. Hmm hey Junpei! What was the style of houses in the Jomon period called?

"Uhhh... How am I supposed to know about something way back then? Quick, Aria-chan! What the heck is he talking about!"

"Mud Huts." She spoke flatly.

Wow, it's actually kind of impressive to see her this bored...

"That's correct. Mud Huts were built by digging a hole in the ground and supporting the roof...It's no use. I can't get interested. Ugh, I wanna get to the age of the katanas. Everything else is so dull..."

"Hey...! I answered right and I don't get any credit? Tch... Oh well. Than- How the hell does she fall asleep so fast?"

...I'd like to know also, it's a neat trick.

Evening - Iwatodai Dorm - 4th floor

"Oh! There you are!"

Yukari waves us over and we enter the room. Big computer console to the left with various book selves around the room and in the center it's set up like the lounge, interesting room. Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Ikutsuki are already seated on a couch.

"Ah, there you are. I'm glad that you're okay. The reason I asked you both here is because I needed to talk. Please, have a seat." The Chairman motioned his arm to the empty couch for us to sit down.

This has got to be about the other night, should be good to hear what that was all about.

"Okay, let me start off by asking you this... Would you believe me if I said that a day consists of more than 24 hours?"

"..." Starting at the beginning, eh? Oh, nee-san's crossed her arms and is giving him a bit of a stare... I wish I had popcorn.

"...We know. Ever since our parents died we're been dealing with that Time. What I want to know is how you are all out of you're coffins during it. And that hands monster, what was that all about? Nether of us had ever encountered anything like that before, just smaller black blobs. Since coming here our lives have gone quite few notches up on the weird scale and you all know something about it, please explain we're listening."

Dumbfounded and shocked looks... it's going to take them a bit to recover from that. Man, popcorn would really be nice and maybe a drink too.

"Ah... er.."

She smiles warmly, "Please, take your time."

"..."

Mitsuru is the first to gather herself up,"...You've been experiencing the Dark Hour, that's what we've termed the time that happens at midnight, for 10 years?"

"That's about right."

"...I see. That explains why you both have weapons in your rooms, have you been fighting Shadows with those this whole time?"

"Kinda, at first it we just ran but about 7 years about Minato actually managed to kill one."

Which happened by complete accident, I had gotten cornered at a new school and started throwing things at it. A few books, a globe, a chair then a desk which finished it off causing it to burst into black light before fading... scared the hell out of me. Not to mention the next morning rumors about a ghost that wrecks classrooms was going around the school.

Ikutsuki smiled at us,"Since you know all about that then. Long story short, we're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad-SEES for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows. Mitsuru is the leader. I'm the club advisor."

I see where this is heading.

"A Shadow feeds on the mind of its prey; the victim becomes a living corpse. They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not all of them." Now Mitsuru's giving us _that_ look.

"It's our job to defeat them. ...Sounds exciting, huh?"

The Dark Hour, a fitting name for it, isn't exactly something I would describe using words like exciting, fun or interesting. But it looks like nee-san agrees with this guy, sigh.

"Akihiko! Why are you always like that? You just got hurt the other day!"

"Now now, he does his work well." Ikutsuki turned back to us, "Although rare, there are those who can function during the Dark Hour. Some may even awaken to a power that enables them to fight the Shadows. That's 'Persona'-the power you used the other night. The Shadows can only be defeated by Persona-users. Which means, it's all up to you guys.

"So, you want us to join you from the sound of it." She always gets straight to the point.

"I'm glad you're quick to understand."

"I'm fine with it. Beats studying or sleeping during it."

...I knew she was going to say that but still take a little time to think about it would you? Not that I really mind ether and I'm not letting her go off alone. "...I'll help too."

"I was afraid you'd say no... Welcome aboard!" Yukari sure is happy about this... should I be worried?

"I really appreciate it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask." Mitsuru extends her hand out and we take turns shaking it. I guess it wont be so bad, now that they aren't sneaking around it's actually nice to talk to them.

A mysterious voice rings in your head, _"Thou hast established a new bond. Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Judgement Arcana..."_

I feel stronger... But that's still creepy as all hell.

Dark Hour - Iwatodai Dorm - 2nd Floor

...hmm... Did nee-san sneak in...? Why does it feel like someone else is in here? I look around and jump out of bed.

"Hi, how are you?"

...The fuck? The boy with the contract is sitting on my bed! And he's laughing. What the fucking hell.

"How'd you get in here?"

"I'm always with you..." ...That should sound really creepy... but I'm getting the feeling he's telling the truth... seriously?

"Soon, the end will come. I remembered, so I thought I should tell you."

"The end?" Why am I even responding...

"The end of everything. ...But to be honest, I don't really know what it is." Damn, he's just like nee-san, saying outrageous things like it's nothing.

"Oh, looks like you've awakened to your power...and an unusual power it is. A power that takes many forms, yet is bound by none... It may prove to be your salvation, depending on where you end up."

And how does he know all this... wait the 'I'm always with you' bit huh.

"Do you remember when we first met? I expect you to honor your commitment. I'll be watching you, even if you forget about me... Okay then, see you later." He vanishes.

"..."

...I'm going back to sleep.

**04/21/2009**

Early Morning - Gekkoukan High - School Gates

Yukari walks over, "Mornin'. Um... Thanks about yesterday. Akihiko-sempai's injured and I was really uneasy about working alone with Mitsuru-senpai..."

Sigh, she's still ignoring nee-san. But she seems to be enjoying it, judging from her smirk. She mouths 'My turn.' And taps her headphones. Damn.

"Leave it to me."

Yukari's beaming, "Yeah! Let's do our best together! But I wonder when Senpai's injury is going to heal." He did get banged up a good deal, "He said that wasn't a major injury..."

What... he's gotta be missing a limb for it to matter or something?

After School - Gekkoukan High - Class 2-F

"I thought I was gonna fall asleep in there..."

"..."

And I'm saved, Mitsuru walks in... how odd. "Can I have a minute? Come to the lounge when you get back to the dorm. I have something to tell everyone. I'll save the details for later. See you there."

Gone as quickly as she came. "She certainly was direct..."

"She's probably busy with things like Student Council, unlike us." Wow, Yukari's pretty miffed.

"Whoa, Yuka-tan! Do I sense some hostility?" And Junpei, why are you always eavesdropping?

"Well, it's not that I don't like her... She's just..." That's a lie, but you wont see me calling her on it...

Nee-san was suddenly tugging my arm, "Minato, we should get going. Since we have to be at the dorm later, if we don't go now it'll have to wait for another day."

Huh? I didn't have anything planned... did I? ...Whatever, if she wants to bail me out of this conversation I'm not going to turn it down.

"You're right, sorry. We'll be going ahead then."

Paulownia Mall - Chagall Cafe

I look down at the coffee I ordered, "Er.. so why are we here?"

She takes a sip of the hot chocolate before putting it down, "I wanted to ask you something in private, because quite frankly if anyone over heard this I wouldn't be sure how to explain it. So, we're here."

Oh. That's a good reason. "What's up?"

She sighs then looks straight at me, "Last night, did the boy in stripes visit you?"

"Wait, are you serious? He was in your room too?" What the hell, it's one thing if it's me but I'm not comfortable with the thought that he came to both of us while we were sleeping.

"Not too loud." Oh er... geh. A few people stare at us for a minute. "Did he talk to you about the end?"

"...Yes."

"I see." Oh she looks worried. "The thing is, more than his dire warning I'm worried about something else..."She paused then took a deep breath, "...Ever since he first started showing up, I don't know... he just feels so familiar and I can't understand why. So..." She's looking down fiddling with her cup.

Ya know... I wasn't paying attention at the time but it did feel... comfortable, his presence that is. I did think it was nee-san at first.

"I understand, I thought he felt comfortable..."

Relief flooded her features, "I'm glad, I know it's weird but still. Oh we better drink these and run. Mitsuru-sempai isn't going to be happy if we're late."

Ha, it must have been bothering her. She looks alot happier now.

...and then I feel our bond grow slightly stronger.

We both sigh.

Evening - Iwatodai Dorm - 4th Floor

"...Welcome back." And that is one frosty glare Mitsuru, we're only a little late.

"...Okay, they're here now. So, what's this all about?" Why does Yukari sound miffed too?

"There's someone I want to introduce." Akihiko turns to the door, " ...Hey, hurry up."

"Hold your horses... This is freakin' heavy." That voice is...

"J-Junpei! ...Why is HE here! Wait, don't tell me-"

"This is Junpei Iori from Class 2-F. He'll be staying here as of today."

Junpei's chuckling and grinning like he just won the lotto, "Wazzup?"

"He's staying HERE! You've gotta be kidding me!"

"I bumped into him the other night. He has the potential, but he just awakened to it recently... I told him about us, and he agreed to help."

"You have the potential! For real!" Note to self, Yukari doesn't handle unexpected changes well.

"He found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store, surrounded by a bunch of coffins. I don't remember much, but... man, that's embarrassing! He said that's, ya know, completely normal... in the beginning. Like, bein' confused and not remembering anything. Did ya guys know that?"

"...Really?" Nee-san's giving him a questioning look. I'm curious too because that's the first I've heard of that.

"Didn't he tell ya? Man, every Persona-user should know THAT."

"..." Grand, even among other people that experience the Dark Hour we still get to be different.

"...But man, I was shocked to find out about you guys. I had no idea. I'm glad I'm not the only one. It could get kinda lonely, ya know. I bet you're stoked too, right! Havin' me join..."

Nee-san smiles, "Yeah, good to have you around."

I shake his hand, glad to have atleast one person that can be considered normal... or atleast close to it anyway.

"Huh? Uh, y-yeah..." And after all that she still manages to sound disbelieving...

"Well, enough with the introductions. I think we're about ready..."

"Okay, everybody's here. I'd like your undivided attention." The chairman waits til Junpei settles down, "For a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona-users we had. But, that number recently jumped to six. Therefore... Starting tonight at 12:00 AM, I'd like to commence the exploration of Tartarus."

"Tartarus...? What's that? ...Sounds like toothpaste." Ah, Junpei, only you could make a name that basically means hell into a joke. Glad to have you man.

"You haven't seen it, Junpei?" More disbelief from Yukari, it's impressive that she can be like that still.

"Hm..?"

"It's no surprise... since it only appears during the Dark Hour." Mitsuru finally speaks up.

"Just like the Shadows... Interesting huh? And it's the perfect place of us to train. You can think of it as a Shadow nest." Akihiko had a predatory grin on his face while he said that... This guy really enjoys this doesn't he?

"...That does sound interesting." Damn, now she wants to go.

"Since Akihiko hasn't fully recovered yet, he'll only come as far as the entrance." Nice going Mitsuru, he looks depressed now.

Junpei grinned then pointed his thumb at his chest, "Relax, I've got your backs."

...And I'm not surprised that no one looks reassured by that statement.

Near Midnight - Gekkoukan High - School Gates

...So. We came to the school. This is Tartarus?

"Why are we here?"

Akihiko smirks, "Just wait a few minutes... It's almost midnight."

And we wait.

Dark Hour - Tartarus - Front Gate

I've seen a lot of strange thing lately but everything else pales in comparison to watching your school transform. Into a huge ass tower of fucking doom. It's just impossible large, I can't even see the top of it clearly from here.

"This is Tartartus - the labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour." Thank you tour guide Mitsuru, you've made this sound like we're sightseeing.

"Labyrinth...? What are you talking about? What happened to our school!" Excellent questions Junpei, now does anyone have an answer?

"Once the Dark Hour passes, everything returns to normal."

"This is the 'nest' you were talking about? But why! ...Why'd our school turn into a giant tower?"

"..." Oh, what's this... still keeping secretes huh.

"...You don't know, either?"

"...No." Why am I surrounded by people that like to lie badly and others who can't see that?

"I'm sure it's complicated." But your tone says you don't really believe that ether, Yukari.

"Well, maybe now we'll find out. Mitsuru and I have only gone in to take a peek; this is the first time it'll be explored. Exciting, isn't it? there has to be some sort of clue in there about the Dark Hour..."

Nee-san is positively beaming, I get the feeling her and Akihiko are going to get along well... "Yeah, this is the only time I've seen a whole place become something completely different. There's bound to be something special inside."

Akihiko and Mitsuru lead us inside.

"Whoa... It's just as cool on the inside..."

"But, it sure is creep..."

...Really? The place is pretty cool and definitely no where as nightmare inducing as the outside of it looks.

"This is only the entrance. The labyrinth lies beyond the doorway at the top of the stairs."

"First, we'll have you four get a feel for this place. Why don't you go have a look around? And use these so we can keep in contact." Akihiko handed out ear pieces. So, we're just going to have a field trip into the Shadows' nest... Whatever let's just get it over with.

"What! By ourselves?

"We're not asking you to go very far, and I'll be feeding you information from here." Oh, well that is actually comforting.

"We're also going to appoint a leader to make any necessary decisions."

"For real? ...One of us? Oh! Oh! Me me me! Pick me!"

So it's going to end up being Yukari, nee-san or myself leading. That's bothersome.

"..." Akihiko's staring at us, "...Why don't you both lead." Shit, both of us? "It should be easier if you share the responsibility."

"W-Wait! Why them? They don't look like leaders!"

"But, they have fought them before..."

"Seriously?"

"That's true, but there's another reason. Yukari, Junpei. Can you summon your Persona without any difficulties, like they can?

"Y-Yeah, of course I can!"

"I think so."

"These are Shadows we're talking about here. Without your Persona, you're screwed."

...Good point Akihiko. I'm not exactly willing to put our lives in their hands if they're that uncertain.

"..."

"..."

"All right, let's head inside. Are you ready? Aria, Minato?"

"Good to go!"

"Haha, that's the spirit."

We start walking towards the entrance but midway there I notice a strange blue door...

"Hey, Aria."

"Yeah..." She puts her hand in her pocket and pulls out the strange key she was given. It's shining, she walks over to the door and I follow. As she puts the key into the door... it goes dim for a moment before we're transported to the Velvet Room. Sitting in our respective chairs.

...Sigh.

"I've been waiting for you. The time has come for you to wield your power. The tower that you are about to venture into... How did it come to be? For what purpose does it exist? Regrettably, you are not yet capable of answering these questions. That is why you must be made aware of the nature of your power."

"About that door..." Oh good, I was going to be worried if she wasn't going to talk like last time.

"It leads to here, although no one but you two can see it." That's good. But, aren't we just staring into space right now then?

"Your power is unique. It's like the number zero... It's empty but at the same time holds infinite possibilities." Hold on, the contract boy also said something similar. That's a bit creepy. "You are able to possess multiple Personas and summon them as needed. And when you have defeated your enemies, you will see the faces of possibility before you. You must remember to seize what you have earned and your power will grow accordingly... Be sure to keep that in mind."

Can I get a translator here? Because whatever language he's using it's not japanese, because it didn't make any sense at all.

"...Er... cou-" She's just as confused but Igor cuts her off.

"My spare time will soon be scarce. But please come again of your own accord. I'll tell you then about my true role... the manner in which I can best assist you. Until then... Farewell."

"Wa-!"

We're back in the lobby of Tartarus...

"...Tch!"

"Hey, are you guys alright?

"Yeah, what's up? You look like a pair zombies."

Hell, they chose a fine time to be observant.

"Really? Zombies?" She just smiles and tilts her head a little.

"That's what you pick to dwell on! Ooh, I get it. You're trying to yank my chain here. Don't worry, though! I got you covered whenever you need it, man!"

Yukari smiles, "Yeah yeah, whatever. C'mon let's go."

Now that's impressive, I didn't need to worry at all. I pat her head a few times, gotta give credit where it's due.

Tartarus - 2nd Floor

I take back what I earlier said about the inside not being as creepy. The hallways are like the schools but green with lost of blood everywhere, dripping from the ceiling, the walls and pools of it on the floor. If I start having nightmares I know why.

"Minato."

"Hmm?"

"Rock, paper, scissors, now!"

Huh? Oh uh, I pick rock and she picks scissors then grins at me. "You'll take point then, I'll back you up." Sigh.

"I hope we don't get lost..."

"Can you all hear me?" Everyone jumps slightly, I forgot Mitsuru could still talk to us.

"Loud an clear, Sempai!" ...She's way too cheerful for this place.

"Good. I'll be providing audio backup from here on out."

"Wait... Ya mean you can see inside here?"

"It's my Persona's ability. I'd like to join you, but the structure of Tartarus changes from day to day. That's why outside support is imperative."

"..." Ah, nee-san's pissed. I don't blame her, that's kind of important for us to know that.

"Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better..."

Mitsuru just ignores Yukari's comment, "Now, based on your current location, you can expect to encounter enemies at any minute. They shouldn't be too tough, but proceed with caution. Practice makes perfect."

"Right!"

"Got it." Yukari mumbles,"Why is she always like that...?" I shake my head, she really doesn't like Mitsuru.

I look over the group, hrm... Yukari's got a bow well she's in the archery club so it should be ok but Junpei... that's a huge sword... can he use it? And...he's holding it like a baseball bat...

"...Before we get started, what abilities do your persona have?" I'm purposely losing RPS next time we come here, this is troublesome.

"My persona knows Dia, it's a healing skill." Ok, that's useful.

"Mine's got Cleave!" And that's not as useful. At all.

"Ok, then Yukari, please focus on healing. Junpei... just try not to get hit."

...I feel like I'm playing an an RPG now.

"...Let's get moving then."

"There's three Shadows to the left ahead. When you engage I can attempt to scan them for weakness, as soon as I finish I'll tell you."

Ok... here goes nothing. We round the corner and sneak up on them. They look the same as the ones on the roof did, I press the evoker to my head.

"Persona!" I watch as Orpheus uses his lyre to smash it. Damn, not dead yet. Junpei doesn't bother summoning his persona and swings his sword at the Shadow... but it dodges and he falls over and the Shadow attacks him. Damnit!

"What the hell?" He uses his arms as a shield but Shadow rakes its claws across them leave three bleeding gashes. "Ouch!"

"Hang in there, Io!" A girl chained to a bull is her persona? ...Should I really be thinking about this right now... Good, that got rid of his wound.

"The enemy's weakness is fire!"

"Aria!"

"I'm on it! Orpheus!" A strum of the lyre and the first Shadow is dead. "One more time!" And she raises the evoker to her head again, and the second Shadow falls down, I think. Shit, she's panting.

"Leave it to me, come forth!" Now the third Shadow is down. Then it clicks, "Everyone attack now!"

Everyone charges and the Shadows are finished off in seconds. I need to make sure everyone's all right...What the... A card's floating in front of me, it's got a blue woman on it. Wait, I'm forgetting something...After battle, possibilities, multiple Persona... fucking Igor strikes again. I grab the card and it disappears but a name rings out in my head, Apsaras. Forget it for now.

"Everyone ok?"

"I'm ok."

"I'm ready for more!" That's surprising...I'm glad he can take a hit well.

"Good to go." Oh guess she's fine now.

"Good job everyone. Now, see if you can eliminate all the Shadows wandering around on this floor." Seriously, c'mon now Mitsuru, just how many Shadows are on this floor in the first place?

"...Let's find the next group." No point in even trying to argue with her. She's the only one that know how to get out of here too. We wander around a bit more and I find a staircase... thankfully, we wont be going any higher today. We get a little further in and Mitsuru declares there's another group of Shadows nearby and there are more than last time. Just full of good news, aren't ya?

We're able to sneak up on them again and there's five Cowardly Mayas, what's with the weird name? Whatever, they're weak to fire.

"Orpheus!" One down, "Again!" Two down... Holy shit doing it twice in a row really takes it outta you. "...Aria, you're up!"

She puts the evoker to her head, "I summon you!" Nice third down and she just pulls the trigger again. "Tch!" Fourth down. Shit one left and nether of us is up to doing that again at the moment.

"I got this! Hermes!" Oh neat, when'd he learn to use Agi? "Here's our chance! Let's get 'em!"

"Everyone all out attack!" ...It's kind of satisfying when we can just beat the shit out of them like this. Good, all of them were defeated. No cards this time huh. Oh I'm feeling fine now, I guess two shots to the head are my limit for now...

"By the way guys, could you kind of clue me in when your Personas learn new skills." It's much easier to direct everyone if I know what I've got to use.

"Ok umm..." Yukari looked like she was trying to remember something," mine just learned Patra which cures panic, distress and fear and also Garu a wind spell." Ok, so she's defiantly the white mage.

"I just learned Agi, that fire spell you guys kept using." Yeah, I kind of noticed already.

"..."

"Aria?" Why is she frowning?

She sighs, "I can use Dia now."

"Oh, neat." Did she get new new Persona too... wonder what it is.

"We shouldn't keep sitting here for much longer."

Good point. "Mitsuru-sempai, how many Shadows are left?"

"Three more groups. One is near by, the other two are deeper in."

Sighing, I lead us to the next group. Just two more times after this.

Tartarus - Lobby

"Dude, that's sweet!"

"It is pretty useful."

Access points are great. I'm glad we didn't have to walk through that maze to get back out here.

Mitsuru is waving to us, "Welcome back. So, how was it?"

"No problem." Except for that last fight, Junpei and Yukari looked like they were going to pass out from exhaustion.

"I see. Well if you gained confidence, that's the best thing you could have achieved."

"Wow... I never knew I had that kind of power! We kicked some ass! But damn, I'm beat..."

"That's cuz you were bouncin' around like a little kid."

"You look pretty tired yourself, Yuka-tan."

"I'm still trying to catch my breath, actually..."

I scratch my head, I feel just fine. Looks like nee-san does too, she sees me staring and shrugs.

"That's the effect of the Dark Hour; you'll become fatigued more easily. Don't worry, though, you'll adapt." I guess that explains why we're not tired. "But, I'm surprised... You all did much better than I expected. At this rate, they'll catch up to you in no time, Akihiko."

"Heh, we'll see about that."

I smile, this might not be so bad after all. We did do pretty good. I feel the Judgment bond strengthen and I feel stronger...

I wonder how long it's going to take me to get used to that.

**04/22/2009**

Early Morning - Gekkoukan High - School Gates

I'm listening to music as Akihiko notices us and walks over. "Morning. I didn't know that we were on the same train. But man... things have been real crazy these past couple of days. Are you all right? You must be confused since you've just transferred here too."

Oh, it's my turn to be ignored. Whatever, I'm going to keep an eye on him though...

She's smiling sweetly, "I'm all right." Sigh, it doesn't help that she does things like that ether.

"Wow, that's impressive. You're completely different from Junpei. On the other hand, I'm so bored that I feel like I'm going to die... Hey, is there any way I can sneak in on the fight? Maybe I could get past Mitsuru if I wear Junpei's hat?"

But it's ok because this guy must be incredibly thick, it's actually praise worthy that after seeing her smile like that he just wants to talk about how he wants to fight. I can only shake my head.

She frowned, "Sempai, I think she would execute you if she found out..."

Akihiko's shoulders sag and he looks throughly depressed, "...You're right, the consequences wouldn't be worth it..."

"We should get going, there's a morning assembly"

Good, I could use a nap.

Afternoon - Gekkoukan High - Class

"Alright, today we'll be going over Meiji-era literature. Open your textbooks to-"

Mmm, now's a good time for some more sleep.

...

Eh? Why'd nee-san nudge me, she sleeps in class too so what's the problem. I raise my eyebrow but she points to her notebook.

'Sorry but I want to talk about last night.'

Hmm, where's my pen. 'Ok.' Not that I have much of a choice. Ms. Toriumi continues talking, guess it must look like nee-san is taking notes while I read them...

'I got two new Persona, first Pixie and second Asparas. You?'

'Same, but Asparas first then Pixie.'

'Still the same huh...'

'Guess so.'

Ms. Toriumi suddenly stops talking, "All right, Kenji, you'd better not be sleeping back there! You should be ashamed of yourself, taking a nap while I pour my heart into reading this poem! For that, you get another essay along with your regular assignment tonight! I'll expect a slice of cake when you turn it in, too! And don't cheap out with the store bought stuff like last time!"

...Maybe it was a good thing she wanted to now talk after all.

After School - Gekkoukan High - School Gates

Looks like Junpei's going to be walking home with us today, he's talking to nee-san about the speech Mitsuru gave this morning. Must of been impressive...

"Look, it's Akihiko-senpai!" "Where! ...Oh, there he is!"

So noisy, they're actually managing to drown out my music. From the Looks of it they annoy Akihiko too, but seriously that group of girls have got him surrounded.

"Man, would you look at that? I hear they're always swarming Akihiko-sempai like that. I know he's the captain of the boxing team, but... I mean, come on! You don't even see girls flock like that on TV! I wonder where they're going..." Jealous much, though considering how he's treating them right now... I doubt he's interested in any of them. Oh, he's coming over here.

"Senpai!" "Wait for us!" ...along with the fan girl horde.

"Hey, are you guys free this afternoon?"

"Huh? Who, us?" ...Junpei always has such interesting reactions to... everything. And Thank you Akihiko, your fans are glaring at us now.

"...Yeah, we're free, _Akihiko_-sempai." Ack, nee-san's using her sweetest voice and smile. "We would _love_ to." I flinch slightly and Junpei takes a few steps back, the glares are hateful enough bore holes through concrete and they're all focused on her but she's just smiling serenely. And she says I can be scary at times.

"Err..." Akihiko looks confused, the guy is way too oblivious for his own good. "I want the three of you to meet me at Paulownia Mall. You know where it is, right? I'll be at the police station. See ya there." ...That's an odd place to go. As he walks away the fan girls shoot one last glare at us before following him.

"...Hey Aria-chan. What happened back there?"

"Oh, sorry about that. I hate just that kind of behavior... We should get going."

As she was walking away, Junpei whispers to me. "...Dude, girls are freaking scary."

"...I know. We better catch up, I'd hate to get on her nerves right now."

"Good point. Hey Aria-chan, wait for us!"

Paulownia Mall - Police Station

Akihiko is talking to a cop behind the counter, "Thank you, Sir. Oh, these are the guys I was talking about earlier." The cop is staring at us, kinda of feels like he's sizing us up. "I was waiting for you guys. This is Officer Kurosawa. He helps keep our squad well-equipped. And, this is from Ikutsuki-san..."

"R-Really! Sweet!" He hands each of us 5,000 yen, cool.

"You can't fight something empty-handed, so find something you like. Officer Kurosawa has connections... But, these things still cost money."

"Of course they do. Nothing in life is free."

"I realize that. Well, I'll see you later. Thanks again." Ya know, Akihiko does the same here and gone thing Mitsuru does... is it a senior thing?

"I've been informed about you three. My job is to maintain peace in this city, regardless of the circumstances. I'm just an ordinary police officer, but it doesn't take a genius to know something strange is going on here. I'm only doing what I think is right."

As he's talking he guides us to a heavily secured door then unlocks us it and let us in. "I don't have that much right, so take a look and if you don't see anything useful I get new shipments every so often, so drop occasionally."

"Wow."

"Sweet!"

"..." The whole room is filled with various weapons and armor. I pick up a short sword, giving it a swing to feel it out. It seems to be ok but... the blade's not in the greatest shape, I think the one I have might only be slightly worse off. Maybe I should look at the armor instead. Hmm... this one looks sturdy, I think it'll fit under my uniform too.

"It's a Camo Shirt 3,700 yen if you want it."

"Er.. yeah, I'll take it." Damn, way to sneak up on a guy I nearly jumped. I look around, no one else is here.

"Here's your change. The other two went outside, the girl said she'd wait for you."

"Oh. Ok, thanks." Seems like a nice enough guy considering he's selling weapons and armor to a group of teenagers. I manage to some how shove the armor in my school bag. Nee-san was leaning against the building humming what had to of been Burn My Dread.

"Thanks for waiting."

"Heya, Junpei left already, he's in a bad mood."

"Why is it that everyone we meet lately is bi-polar?"

"Who knows, wanna walk around the mall for a bit?"

"Sure."

"I wonder what's back there..." She points to the ally behind her.

"Well, let's go find out."

"..."

"..."

And we sigh, it's a blue door just like the one in Tartarus.

Velvet Room

"Welcome to the Velvet Room. I see you've found the other entrance."

I just hope we don't keep finding doors that one one else can see all around town.

"Well... I suppose it's time for me to explain what I really do here. It is my job to create new Personas. But in order to do so, I must fuse your Persona cards together into a single Persona. So, as you accumulate cards, please bring them to me."

Oh... that's just so... normal sounding.

"Er... ok. Um... ah..." Nee-san's really flustered. She's waving her hands around as though trying to grab a coherent thought. Igor looks amused while the two attendants are looking at her curiously. I ruffle her hair a bit and she calms down, hanging her head low but I can tell she's turned red. I better take over from here...

"Sorry, with everything that's been going on lately it would have been less shocking if you had more earth shattering revelations.

She's still looking down, but nods.

Igor chuckles, I swear I'm going to hear that in my nightmares.

Evening - Iwatodai Dorm - 1st Floor

"Welcome back. Perfect timing...I'd like to speak to you for a moment."

Not really, if you could kindly read the mood Mitsuru. I really don't think ether of us are good for a drawn out conversation right now. Especially after the deathly silent walk home.

"Regarding our exploration of Tartarus... Akihiko is still on the mend, so for now, I'd like you both to lead the team. You never know when a powerful enemy might appear, like the one you faced the other day. It's best to be prepared, or else you may find yourself in a difficult situation. So, whenever you'd like to explore Tartarus, just let me know, and I'll gather everyone there. Also, since I'm sure there are other things you will need to take care of, you may go out at night if you need to. Well, that's it. Keep up the good work."

"..."

...Nee-san's still out of it, "Alright, but we wont be going tonight. I'm still a bit tired and Yukari and Junpei were rather worn out from last night. We should only be going there when we're in a good condition to."

Mitsuru smiled then answered, "I see, you are quite right. I'm glad to see you are taking your position seriously."

...And I'm glad you bought that.

Evening - Iwatodai Dorm - 2nd Floor

"Good night."

"...Good night."

Sigh, I hate seeing her like this... I'll try talking to her tomorrow. I had just turned to go to my room when I felt a tug on my sleeve.

"...Sorry you had to put on that performance downstairs. I really appreciate it though, nii-san..." She spoke softly and her eyes never left the ground.

I give her a big hug and pat her back a few times, "It's ok. We both need a break and some time to digest everything. It's really overwhelming to have all of this shoved on to us right when we're finally able to be together again. So it's ok. I'm sure after we both get a nice night's rest, meaning no huge Shadows, no Velvet Room and no Tartarus, we'll feel much better in the morning, ok?"

"...Yeah, you're right." She looked up smiling brightly at me so I let her go. "I'll see you in the morning. Sweet dreams!"

"Ha ha, same to you."

**04/23/2009**

Early Morning - Gekkoukan High - School Gates

"Man, I'm so tired... Coming to school is a job by itself. Things got so busy all of a sudden. Well, I do feel alot more satisfied, though."

"...You're just going to fall asleep in class, so you should be fine, Junpei."

"Hehe, his grades are going to take a beating though!" She's smiling again, I'm relieved... When she's down it makes me depressed that I can't do more to help her.

"Like you can talk, Aria-chan, I've never seen a girl sleep in class as much as you! Heck, you almost sleep as much as Minato and he's always asleep." She shrugged, "Can't say anything, huh?"

After School - Gekkoukan High - Class 2-F

Junpei walked over the moment classes ended. "Yo, you guys wanna hang out? I know someplace that's really good. It'll be my treat!"

"Sweet, let's go!" Nee-san looks excited.

"I'm in too." After all free is always a good thing!

"Alright, now you're talkin'."

Iwatodai Strip Mall - Hagakure Ramen

It's crowded, but luckily we get in without waiting too long, if anything it's a popular resturant.

"Umm... Alright! We'll have three Specials!

"Sounds good."

"Well... I'm sure it'll be better then you're expecting."

"Heh, confident aren't you."

Well, he's always confident. It remains to be seen weather he should be or not. After a few moments, the waiter brings the bowls to us.

...It smells so good. Looks like Junpei isn't always wrong. He looks us over a moment before giving grinning, "C'mon don't just stare at it, try it."

We nod then take a bite. Oh... the distinct taste of the soup blends well with the thick noodles. It's very delicious.

"...I've never had anything like this." I wonder what they add that makes it so good.

Nee-san is throughly enjoying hers, "This is delicious!"

Junpei looks all proud, "Ha ha! Good, right? Well then, I'm digging in too. Chow time!" He began to eat but a second later he was fanning his mouth. "Ahh, hot hot hot..." She's laughing and I just shake my head. "Man this is great!"

Noodles being slurped happily was the only sound we made for a while. Junpei spoke up sounding concerned, "Hey.. Are you guys feeling better now? I heard that while you were out for a while you were in the hospital. You both acted the same when you came back but I was kinda of worried." Oh, he's a surprising considerate guy.

She chuckled then flashed him a smile, "Thanks Junpei, but we're all better now."

"Huh? Oh, um..." ...is he blushing? "No need to thank me. I had some problems myself when I transferred here, too. But you guys have all that on top of the fighting stuff. I was wondering if you weren't accustomed to school or whatever... But it seems like everything's just fine." He's laughing with a sheepish grin.

Ah whatever, he was just worried about us. And this has to be the most fun we've had since we've gotten here... I'm glad he invited us out.

A mysterious voice rings in my head, _"Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Magician Arcana..."_

And I feel slightly stronger...again. Well, looks we'll be hanging out more often. And it'll nice to have a guy in the dorm I can hang out with.

"Still... Girls and guys livin' in the same dorm, huh? That can't be good. Right, man?" He grinned and nudged me with his elbow.

"..." But I think I can make due without one... especially if he mysteriously vanishes...

"Oh, stop smirking like that Junpei! Minato isn't like you."

"Aww... I can't help it. Oh, but I don't drag love into my work. Then again, I can't guarantee that I wont fall for somebody, mwahahah!"

She rolled her eyes and laughed.

Sigh...

Dark Hour - Tartarus - Lobby

After the three of us got back to the dorm, we told Mitsuru we would be go to Tartarus tonight. So here we are listening to her give us pointless instruction. "...A few floors up there's a barricade preventing you from going any higher. The tower seems to have a number of these interspersed amongst it's floor." Ok, mostly pointless instruction. I'll just continue 'inspecting' the walls.

"Alright, we'll do our best sempai!" I'll never understand how she can be so excited about this. " Oh and one more thing before we go in." Huh? "Minato and I can summon multiple Persona, just so you know."

"W-What?" Yukari's shocked.

"Seriously?" Junpei's shocked.

"Is that even possible?" And Mitsuru's expression is a mix of shock and disbelief.

"..." She needs to fix that habit before she gives someone a heart attack.

"Ok, now that you know we should get moving. The Dark Hour'll be up before we know it."

...Is it just me or does she look a little happier now?

Tartarus - 5th Floor

I almost felt bad for the Shadows, we've gotten to the 5th floor without a scratch. Even Junpei managed to stop stumbling as much and there's more teamwork than the first time we were here.

"I detect three Shadows in the floor's central area. Be cautious, they're not like the ones you've fought so far."

"Ok, thanks for the warning Mitsuru-sempai."

We walk to the center of the room and hear wings flapping but the sound isn't moving it's staying in the same spot.

"Hmm, they're all lined up just waiting for us. Junpei, Minato we're going to charge the middle one to try and take it out first. Yukari, I'm counting on your support, if everyone's doing ok attack with us. And lastly no spells til Mitsuru's scanned them... Everyone ready?" Everyone nodded.

"Charge!"

Even though the three of us got direct hits it didn't faze it much and Yukari's arrow missed the target. In our surprise we had left ourselves wide open. The three Shadow birds retaliated with an attack of their own, battering us with heavy winds.

"Shit!" I was able to withstand it for the most part.

"Guh!" But Junpei got knocked against the wall, still conscious but too weak to stand.

"Hang in there!" Yukari patched him up some, but he was still heavily injured and couldn't get up.

"They're coming again! Minato, over here!" She was standing in front of Junpei. The only thing we could do was guard against it was best we could and take the impact, he'd be out cold otherwise. But that didn't make it any less painful.

"...! I can't detect anything other than their power level and that they are of the Empress Arcana!" More good news from Mitsuru. Damnit, Yukari wont be able to use her Persona for a bit and Junpei's helpless.

_"...If you two work together you'll make it through this... use Orpheus.."_

Without even thinking about it I had already put the evoker to my head.

"Orpheus!"

"Apsaras!"

**"Cadenza!" **We had both roared out at the same time and there was such a rush of power. Then a soothing tune filled the air... I felt completely healed and the others looked revitalized too. The same could not be said the Shadows, they had been pelted with ice and frozen but they were still alive. I couldn't believe we had made this happen.

Not wasting anytime she called out, "Don't waste this chance! All out attack!"

With that the Shadows were finally defeated. I slumped over to catch my breath, Junpei had sat down and Yukari and nee-san leaned against a wall. The atmosphere was tense and no one spoke for a good minute or so.

"...I think Mitsuru needs to realize the difference between a strong Shadow and a Shadow that's going to kick your goddamned ass. It could end up saving our lives someday." Nee-san grinned wickedly while looking at us. The tension broke and all of us were laughing.

"Can everyone keep going?"

"Yeah, we'll do better next battle!"

"I'm up for it, I can't just run home after being flung around like that!"

I'm impressed even after that we're all ready for more. We must be insane, as we looked for the staircase I kept thinking about that voice I had heard in battle... I wanted to ask but...She would have the same questions too and no way to answer them. So I pushed the questions out of mind.

Tartarus - 15th Floor

Shit, I'm still trying to catch my breath here. That last fight was the hardest yet, no physical attacks worked and it didn't help that it was the third big fight of the evening... I look over and see that Junpei and Yukari are even worse off...

"Hm..? The structure of the next floor seems to be different... See what you can find out..."

"..." What happened to the whole don't push yourselves too hard, eh Mitsuru?

"..."

"..."

Nee-san turned around, also looking winded - I thought she was fine considering the way she's been leading us... "...Everyone you've worked so hard, do you think you can hold out for just a little longer?"

...It's amazing what a little praise can do, Junpei and Yukari looked determined to go on. Thankfully, we didn't run into any Shadows while we looked for the staircase, which was much easier to find than usual. When we reached the next floor I had to rub my eyes a few times because what I saw meant that some how the world had gone insane again.

Almost the entire floor was covered in blood, the floor had no walls and across the way there was an access point and a staircase that was blocked by a large green barrier that gave off a distinct 'Do not Touch' feeling. But the most bizarre thing was the streams of blood pouring down from who knows where on floors like this one except they were all tilted and skewed in ways that would have made them impossible to stand on.

Mitsuru broke the silence, "It's a dead end... Good work. Return to the entrance."

"...What a sight. Let's get out of here."

As we walked toward the access point I noticed a small pile of old papers laying in the opposite direction, by the time I had picked them up I was alone everyone else had returned to the entrance.

"...I'll take a look at these later."

I just want to get out of here and sleep.

**04/24/2009**

After School - Gekkoukan High - Class 2-F

...mmm...someone's...shaking me...?

"...ke up."

...huh...?

"Co...on...ended...ago..."

...lemme keep sleeping...

"...Last chance...wake up... I'll attack..."

...wait... that voice...Shit!

"Ugh... " I open my eyes and see a very familiar pair of hands hanging around my neck. I try to sit up but she's laying on my back so I can't move.

Nee-san starts giggling softly by my ear, "Awake now?"

"...Yes... now stop...laying on me... please..." ...I need to make sure I wake up faster, or one of these times she's going to accidently kill me. She removed her arms and then I felt the weight disappear. After taking a few deep breaths I stood up facing her, and she's got that brilliant smile on her face. Sigh, I can't even be properly angry now... "Did you have to wake me up that way?"

"Yep, nothing else worked and you wouldn't wake up. Besides it's not like I can just leave you here while I ran off to join the tennis team."

I cocked my head, "I didn't know you liked tennis." And I had completely forgot that Junpei had mentioned we would be able to join clubs soon...

"I like it more than volleyball, my only other choice. I'm a bit jealous that for guys swimming, kendo and track are still open..." She crossed her arms pouting a bit.

But I must say that I am thankful that she can't join swimming and kendo for obvious reasons. Still, a club huh.

"Maybe I should join the track team."

She looked at me in disbelief, is it really that surprising... Nevermind, I know it is."Really? I thought for sure you would be in the going home club."

"Yeah, I'm not sure why but it feels like it would be a good idea to join a club."

Gekkoukan High - Practice Field

"...Hey! Kazushi!" Man, Mr. Takenozuka sure can be loud when he wants to be... A well tanned boy with short black hair ran over to us. He looks familiar...

"Yessir!"

"This is the future captain of this team. He's a great athlete and scores well in competions." Mr. Takenozuka then turned to the tanned boy. "This is Minato Arisato, he'll be joining the team. You two are in the same class, right? Keep an eye on the new guy, ok?"

Oh, it's track suit guy! He's only worn a track suit everyday so it took a moment to realize it was him now that he's in a running outfit.

"You got it." As the teacher was walking away he gave me a probing look. "You're the guy who went out with Yukari Takeba on the first day of school, right?"

What the hell, just how popular IS Yukari? And why does he still remember that?

"I'm Kazushi Miyamoto. You've seen me around, right?"

Dude, you stick out like a store thumb..."Yeah."

"Then long story short: you're mine after school. Just because you joined mid-season doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!"

"Ha ha, bring it!" I grinned at him, it was a good idea to join after all. If the rest of the guys on the team are half as interesting as Kazushi then I'll enjoy it here.

A mysterious voice rings in my head, _"Thou hast established a new bond. Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Chariot Arcana..."_

I feel a little stronger...

Evening - Iwatodai Dorm - 1st Floor

"...Oh, hey. Hey, Minato. Have you joined any clubs?" It's Yukari today, I'm don't understand why everyone in this dorm wants to start a conversation with me as soon as I open the door.

"Yep, track." But this has yet to stop me from going with it...

"Oh, yeah? That's cool. ...You seem pretty talented, so I'm not surprised." Talented, huh? More like I had too much time on my hands... "By the way, maybe we should go to Tartarus tonight... With all The Lost, I think we..." Anyways, where's nee-san? I wanted get her so we can go get a bite to eat or something...but she's not here. Maybe she went to bed already?

Mitsuru must have noticed I was looking around the room, "If you're looking for Aria, she said she would be working at Chagall Cafe tonight."

"Oh, alright. Thanks Mitsuru-sempai." I turned around and left. Just as I had closed the door I heard Junpei's voice.

"...They spend alot of time together, it's it a little... odd?"

...It was bound to happen here sooner or later. It's always the same thing...

Paulownia Mall

I peeked into Chagall Cafe's window, nee-san's hard at work serving a couple. I better not go in and bother her. I start walking around the mall, kind of mulling over my thoughts. I really need a part time job too, between living expenses and buying equipment for Shadow slaying I'm real low on funds. But where could I get a job... the cafe was out of question for a number of reasons. And I don't know of any other place that's looking for part time workers.

"Argh, forget it. I'll just go to Power Records to see if there's anything new that's good..."

I had reached the store when I noticed a help wanted sign for part time help on the door. Thank you! For once some good luck!

Paulownia Mall - Power Records

Sweet, I got the job and it's not half bad. Sure I have to talk to the customers but it's about music so it's all good. Hell, a few of the customers seem to enjoy quizzing me on my musical knowledge.

Time flies and I end up leaving with 3,000 yen and I'm welcome back whenever I have the chance to work.

**04/25/2009**

Early Morning - Gekkoukan High - School Gates

This is how mornings should be, no interruptions just nee-san and I walking to school while I listen to music. And then it's all shattered her tapping my shoulder, "...What's up?"

"Apparently there a bookstore having it's grand reopening today at the Iwatodai strip mall. Want to go after school?" Oh, well if it's about books...

"Sure, but... how do you know that?"

She pointed to her left, "Those two are always gossiping loudly in the mornings... Listening to them in the mornings has kind of become ritual, like reading a paper at breakfast. They were the reason I knew about the clubs yesterday."

Now that my headphones were off I could hear every word of their conversation. "I see..." I guess that's one way to stay informed...

After School - Iwatodai Strip Mall - Bookworms

Sweet, there's books piled everywhere in here. I'm bound to find something good...

"...Welcome." The old man's standing behind the counter with an old woman standing beside him. "What would you like today? We have fresh mackerel...!"

Huh? ... Is he joking or something?

"...Sorry, as you can see, we don't sell fish here."

Ohh, he just had a senior moment.

"Hey, you're students, aren't you? You must be from Gekkoukan High, right? That means you've probly seen the persimmon tree there..."

...I don't think I saw one. " No, I haven't."

"Are you serious! You don't know what I'm talking about? Not a day goes by that we don't think about that tree!" Err, I think I stepped on a land mine here... "It was planted right beside a walkway in a courtyard at the school."

"I'm sorry. He's rambling on like an old man. Just ignore him." ... I feel like I should go find that tree now...it's the same feeling from when I heard about the clubs. I see where this is going.

After the old lady had walked away nee-san spoke up, "I think I know where the tree is, we passed it when we went to our clubs. We still have plenty of time... let's go back to school."

So after a little jog back to the school we each go a leaf from the tree, from the ground of course. We were practically sprinting back... I just felt that this would make that old couple happy to see.

"...Welcome to Bookworms. How many guests? Smoking or non-smoking?" Seriously, another senior moment?

Nee-san smiled, "We have something for both of you, please accept it." The old man and old woman both looked puzzled but opened their hands when we held out the leaves.

"Oh! Is this a leaf from that persimmon tree? It must have grown quite a bit to produce such splendid leaves... Wait, so didn't you come here to buy books? Did you come here just to show us this?"

I was grinning, "A little of both." They look so happy to have the leaves, it was worth the run.

"I knew it! I knew right from the start that you're a kind young couple!" The old man keeps praising us... It's embarrassing. "I've been meaning to go see that tree for a while now, but I'm not sure if these stumpy old legs will make it that far..."

That was so bad it was groan worthy...

"...That wasn't meant to be a pun. You know, 'stumpy', 'tree stump'. Catch my drift?"

"Very clever, dear."

"Allow me to introduce my wife Mitsuko. I'm Bunkichi. If you don't mind, would you tell us your names?"

"I'm Aria Arisato."

"And I'm Minato Arisato, we're siblings."

"Then we'll call you Aria-chan and Minato-chan from now on!"

They're a sweet couple, I can see this becoming a favorite place to hang out when I'm free.

A mysterious voice rings in your head, _"Thou hast established a new bond. Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Hierophant Arcana..."_

I feel a bit stronger, but it's getting late we'll need to leave soon.

"We're open everyday except mondays. Come visit us if you get bored." Mitsuko must have noticed it was getting late too.

"We'll definitely be coming back!" Nee-san was beaming while we waved good bye.

Evening - Iwatodai Dorm - 1st Floor

"...Where have you guys been? ...Ya know, you better be training while I'm out. If anything happens, it'll be you guys who have to deal with it."

Gemme a break Akihiko, we're already at the barrier not much else we can do at the moment anyways. Not to mention that power run through Tartarus wiped us all out.

"Right right, don't worry, Sempai! You can count on us!"

"Hmph." He went back to reading his newspaper.

"Hmm... I think I'm going to go to bed early. No part time job tonight. Good night."

"Oh ok. Good night." I'm not really tired yet, maybe I can go try out the arcade at the mall...

Paulownia Mall - Game Panic

Apparently I wasn't the only one with the idea to come here, most of the games are taken... Oh a quiz game's free, I'll try that.

...I don't think I did too bad, but that was alot of random trivia. It's kinda of amazing that a few of those players never got a wrong answer. It's late I better head to the dorm, I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I can sleep in as long as I want.

...Hopefully.

* * *

Congrats on making it to the end, next update will be from Aria's PoV.

**XxXTwilight-SinXxX** - I'm so glad you like her, she might be sweet and kind but she can be scary while she's angry.

**neko-neko-aishizu** - It's funny, until you said I was novelizing it I was... rather oblivious to the fact that's what I had been doing. I plan to stick with it, but I might be a bit slow at updating at time though.

**Destinydeck **- Thanks, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too!

**Fan of Fanfics21** - I only say one thing about the love hotel, it's the reason this is marked as M and that I'm dying to write about it.

**blazingreaper** - Thanks for the support!


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